Reef tanks don't have to be expensive?

[alindell]

For those of us that spend thousands on reef tanks this may appear as a hobby for wealthy people or people with a near drug like addiction. I just to remind those of us who are new to the hobby and are exploring their options for getting into the hobby; that this hobby doesn't have to be expensive. I will use my current tank for an example.

 

[alindell]

My tank is an All-in-one innovative marine. It's been running about 2 years. I just bought the tank with no stand when it was on sale for a few hundred bucks. The filtration is as simple as two removable containers that have filter floss and ceramic bio balls. These get cleaned like once a month. I have maybe 40 lbs of live rock too with no sand bed. I do a water change once a month.

I added some extra filtration. I use a hang on the back cheap aquamax skimmer you can probably get for $100 now. I run a mix of carbon and GFO to help clean and polish the water. It's just BRS reactor with a small pump. Also pretty cheap to buy. The return is a cheap shark pump that I have never cleaned in two years that came with the tank. I bought used old non hd ai hydra 52 led light that goes for like $150 now.

 

[Drayven666]

Definitely. I spent under 400 dollars for my 20 gal cube anemone setup. I can provide recommendations for budget friendly components that are typically expensive such as lighting, for those newbies that might read this thread.

 

[alindell]

I have a tunze osmolator that pumps ro water from a 6 gallon jug into the back of the tank for auto top off. I use one titanium heater hooked up to the original old apex system that controls the temp. These are pretty cheap now.

For dosing I use the old apex system with cheap brs dosers to add kalk to maintain a good pH around 8.3 and all for reef to replenish all elements uptaken by corals on a regular basis. I only test for alk and calcium every now and then with old Hanna colorimeters. I then hand dose sodium bicarbonate to replenish alk that get sucked up by the hard corals. This is a cheap method and seems to work.

For flow I use one old original Mp40 white controller that probably goes for $100 now. It's set at one constant speed.

My salinity stays around 35ppm, alk around 8 near, zero phosphate and nitrat, temp around 77.5.

I feed mysis and pellet food with an occasional target feeding of oyster feast, amino acids, and reef rounds for coral nutrition.

I don't really do much with it and have taken the what happens... Happens approach. I follow some simple routine guidelines and just go with the flow. Whatever lives, lives and whatever dies, dies. I want my tank to be easy and cheap with minimal work and that's why I have some things automated and controlled, but other than that I dont care about trying to get perfect parameters.

 

[alindell]

I have two basic clownfish, nothing special, a royal Gramma and pygmy angelfish. Forget what they cost but they are not too expensive and they look great with a variety of colors.

I have a couple snails, various red legged hermit crabs, a scarlet skunk shrimp and a couple emerald crabs. All can be bought at Petco for like $50

Corals are a variety soft, lps, and sps. The most expensive being a ultra pink goniopora that in surprised has lived this long. Most of the corals I have are small frags that are just basic corals to include gsp, xenia, Kenya tree, green hairy mushrooms. I have some hard corals but are just easy to grow monti cap, digitata, birdnest, styophora, porcillopora. I have 3 fast growing across with a green slimer that just started growing after like a year of not doing anything.

 

[alindell]

So it just goes to show that reef tanks with a little care, some good used equipment and an eye for finding deals that you can have a beautiful, ease of maintenance and well stocked reef tank. Just have a little patience, save up and be smart with your purchase. Happy reefing!

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

I use Marineland or used full frame glass tanks myself. I saved up and gradually bought Kessil lights over three years, but I did start with the Mars Aqua blackbox lights. I always try the cheapest option first, many of which I still use today. Like Jebao powerheads and return pumps.

Reefing is for those with some disposable income though. Some spend a ton of money on the sump alone. Or some, like me, use aqueon aquariums as a sump. How much money you spend on reefing is your business. I like to focus on what makes me happy, not others.

 

[GatorGreg]

The cost of this hobby is really relative and it really comes down to what’s important to someone individually.

This is in no way shape or form a hobby for the wealthy and can be done multiple ways.

People spend way more money on really ridiculous things that make reefing seem cheap. For instance…a pack a day smoker spends around 3k a year just smoking lol.

Someone whose hobby is video games and in game spending can spend a TON of money between monthly game costs and subscriptions.

People who may partake in legal or illegal Mary Jane are spending WAY more than we spend on reefing.

A simple brand new Apple Watch, brand new IPhone with some brand new AirPods and you could buy my entire setup. A large percent of every American and their children have these things.


Long story short. It’s really about what’s important to you. Alot of modern people especially young people think fish tanks and people who keep fish tanks are weird. All of my teenage daughters friends think I’m weird as hell when they see all this stuff. But they LOVE my wife’s sugar gliders.

 

[Northern Flicker]

OP, you are assuming everyone will be able to get the same deals. For example, I've never seen a Hydra here where I am for less than $400 CAD. Buying used is great until you only get 30% of it's lifespan. Tanks are tricky, because if you don't live close to an LFS that carries the style you want (ie IM or WB), then you gotta ship. The skimmer you have retails for a lot more than $100 here.

Like most hobbies, money usually makes success easier. It's not that expensive to set up a reef, but all those cut corners can end up causing issues. Used equipment is great for new people, but also will have a much shorter shelf life and no warranty. It balances out.

For some, $2.5k to get a nice little reef going is no big deal, to others, it's an entire year's worth of hobby budget (or more).

I think most people compare it to freshwater tanks which, outside of high end planted tanks, are a small fraction of a reef. My fiancee set up my old 15 cube this weekend with light, plants, substrate, etc all for less than I spent on a few frags.